For
nature guides
updated
Apr 2020
Why
do a guided walk?
Here are some reasons ...
- To
raise awareness and open eyes: "Wow! I didn't know we had
such amazing shores!"
- To
encourage understanding: "Our shores are interesting!"
- To
encourage loving action: "I CAN do something to preserve
our shores!"
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In
the end, we conserve
only what we love.
We will love
only what we understand.
We will understand
only what we are taught
Baba Dioum |
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Who
is the guided walk for?
VISITORS are the priority.
This may seem obvious, but guides sometimes forget that the walk is
about the visitors.
If the visitors don't understand the guide, don't want to listen to
the guide, then the entire walk falls apart. And all wonderful messages
about the beauty of our shores and the need to save them will not
be passed on.
Different visitors have different needs and preferences. Tailor the
guided walk to match the visitors. This is the advantage of a living
breathing guide. Otherwise, the visitors might as well just bring
along a guidebook.
Three things to focus upon during the walk
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Safety
and comfort of visitors
This requires much preparation well before, just before, during
and after the walk. See role of a guide for more details.
Visitors
have an enjoyable time
Even
if they don't remember exact facts, they have good memories
of the tour. They will want to come back again and bring their
friends too! So don't be a bad guide.
Instead, be a good guide.
Visitors
FEEL love for the shores
Visitors
should end a walk with love for the place even if they can't
remember the names and facts of what they saw. This means
visitors
must UNDERSTAND what is said. Stories must be meaningful to
VISITORS and make them want to learn more about and to protect
the shores. |
How
to be MORE than a guidebook
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Tailor
your tour to fit your visitors This is the main thing a
guidebook cannot do.
Know your habitat So you can find things to show visitors.
Guidebooks cannot do this. So visit your habitat regularly,
guide regularly. Every location has seasonal changes and different
things are seen at different tides and different times of the
day.
Learn from other guides also share what you have learnt.
Others may have different viewpoints, new jokes, different experiences
to share.
A guides-only trip with guides sharing and looking closely at
the habitat will allow you to share and learn from one another.
Read up and learn about your habitat. You can of course
refer to a guidebook during the walk. And it's perfectly OK
to say you don't know. This is better than giving wrong information.
Afterwards, do try to find out more, so that your knowledge
improves with every question. If you can't find the information,
you can email me and I'll try to help. |
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